Posts Tagged ‘iPhones’

If you’ve been holding off on getting that new iPhone that everyone’s talking about, I’ve got bad news and more bad news today.

First, according to a “fan” website devoted to the iPhone, every Apple Store in both the United States and England is completely sold out of the most popular models.

The Apple stores in both the US and the UK are now officially listing the 8GB and 16GB models of iPhone as out of stock.

APPLE IS RUNNING ADS LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THE SCARCITY OF THEIR PHONES

The Buffalo News also has an interesting story today about the high tech wondergadget. Apparently you can’t use cash to get an iPhone. It’s company policy by Apple. Customers are required to use a credit or debit card. The story quotes a furious customer from upstate New York who was rejected in his bid to secure the phone. He went to an Apple Store with cash in hand and was perfectly willing to pay the $499 plus tax. He was turned away by Apple.

“I was so outraged. I was so humiliated. I just sat in the mall and couldn’t even talk for half an hour. I was so surprised this could happen in America,” Palen said. “I’ve never been told that U. S. currency isn’t enough to buy a product.”

Apparently it’s not. According to the paper, that while creditors are required by law to accept cash for “debts, dues and taxes” there is no such requirement for private businesses. The Buffalo News quotes the U.S. Department of Treasury website:

“Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a state law which says otherwise.”

Why would Apple turn away cash paying customers? Apparently the company is concerned about people re-selling their phones on the black market. They want the iPhones registered to the people who bought them. Also, the company feels this will cut down on hackers who are trying to make the iPhone compatible with carriers other than AT&T. Right now AT&T has a deal to be the exclusive cell phone carrier for the iPhone. Sprint, Nextel and Verizon don’t have iPhones.

One parenthetical note, I was in an AT&T store yesterday buying a phone. They have iPhones in stock.